Struggling a bit - can't work out why

[aaron.c]

Hey Guys

Plants are doing much better with t5 lights.

I still need to get my EI regimen right. I did have a Dosing Pump, but it was more trouble than it was worth. It was in the way all the time And the macro pump kept failing to pump.

I have started adding gH booster as our tap water is very soft.

BBA is gone - I have 3 SAE that ate it all, and it has not grown back.



Thanks for the advise


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[Julian]

I feel bad for not seeing this post originally. I could have told you it was the lights. TMC LED's might look bright, but turns out their total trash in my opinion.

 

[RossMartin]

I feel bad for not seeing this post originally. I could have told you it was the lights. TMC LED's might look bright, but turns out their total trash in my opinion.

Hi Julian,

I've got issues with my tank and algae...GSA i think. I use a TMC 1500 Ultima. Looking to swap the lights out for something else. I'm interested to know why you think the TMC LEDs are trash...think i'm coming to the same conlusion!

 

[Julian]

Hi Julian,

I've got issues with my tank and algae...GSA i think. I use a TMC 1500 Ultima. Looking to swap the lights out for something else. I'm interested to know why you think the TMC LEDs are trash...think i'm coming to the same conlusion!

Well, like you, I struggled to find the balance for a very long time. I bought these lights and started out at 50% - I saw algae, so I figured I needed to turn the lights down. How wrong I was. I spent the next year killing hundreds of pounds worth of plants. Finally, I'd decided to whack them up to 100% to see what would happen. Yes I still had algae but the plants were actually growing this time.

I think it's great that the controller gives you the ability to dim the lights with such accuracy, but if people don't know what they're doing (like me), it can lead them on the wrong path. It's very difficult to diagnose light deficiency as its symptoms are similar to lots of other things. With lighting, my advice to people now is to get plants to the point where they actually grow and not worry about algae so much, then work backwards from there.

Light is a huge, huge part of getting plants to grow properly and I think many underestimate this and focus on other things such as flow, nutrients and CO2. While all are important, my experience has been that you can still have great looking plants, even if your drop checker isn't green by lights on, even if your ferts aren't perfect, and even if your filter is rated for less than the size of your tank.

But get the level of light wrong and you do not stand a chance.

 

[xim]

Well, like you, I struggled to find the balance for a very long time. I bought these lights and started out at 50% - I saw algae, so I figured I needed to turn the lights down. How wrong I was. I spent the next year killing hundreds of pounds worth of plants. Finally, I'd decided to whack them up to 100% to see what would happen. Yes I still had algae but the plants were actually growing this time.

I think it's great that the controller gives you the ability to dim the lights with such accuracy, but if people don't know what they're doing (like me), it can lead them on the wrong path. It's very difficult to diagnose light deficiency as its symptoms are similar to lots of other things. With lighting, my advice to people now is to get plants to the point where they actually grow and not worry about algae so much, then work backwards from there.

Light is a huge, huge part of getting plants to grow properly and I think many underestimate this and focus on other things such as flow, nutrients and CO2. While all are important, my experience has been that you can still have great looking plants, even if your drop checker isn't green by lights on, even if your ferts aren't perfect, and even if your filter is rated for less than the size of your tank.

But get the level of light wrong and you do not stand a chance.

Yes, plants use light to make food. Not enough light = not enough food, no matter how much nutrient you dose.

 

[xim]

Someone may raise some successful cases using very low light, like some versions of Mark Evans' tanks. But the brightness we see with our eyes or even PAR values can be misleading. Because our eyes favour wavelength in the green range more than others and PAR favours every photon from 400 to 700 nm "equally".

But plants prefer some wavelengths more than others. It's called PUR (Photosynthetically Useable Radiation). This can explain why some tanks can be successful with very low light. The PAR may be very low, but the PUR may be high enough for plants to survive.